Stalemate in The Ragg as Dublin hold Tipperary in league opener

Very National Camogie League - Division 1A - Round 1

Tipperary 1-10 

Dublin 2-7

By Joe Scully 

A goal from Dublin’s Aoife McKearney from a bullet of a free in the first minute of added time earned Dublin a hard-earned point against the reigning champions on Saturday in the opening round of the VERY Ireland Division 1A Camogie League. 

In a game that took a while to get going both teams struggled to ever get any proper momentum throughout, and a draw was probably a fair result overall. 

However, the home side will look back on the game in particular their free taking as in the first half they used three different free takers, with both Eimear Heffernan and Roisin Howard up first with their accuracy off, before Grace O’Brien stepped up and slotted a few frees over. 

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Also worrying for the Premier County, particularly in the first half was when the Dublin forwards won the ball and got running at the Tipp defence and caused all sorts of problems particularly in the opening 20 minutes, although they would eventually come to terms with it and defended well for the remainder of the game particularly the half-back line of Caoimhe McCarthy, Mairead Eviston, and Aoife McGrath. 

Tipp will be slightly disappointed to have conceded late on and might have felt they had enough back on the goal line to keep out McKearney’s free, but it was a well-struck shot to the top corner in fairness. 

Another slight concern for Tipp will be the fact they conceded 19 frees throughout the hour, and it would be some of these frees that kept Dublin in the game at times.

The game took a while to really get going and it was the away side who started the brightest causing problems while running at the Tipperary defence, and it was run by Aisling Gannon in the seventh minute which led to Dublin being awarded a penalty, but Ashling O’Neill would fail to make decent contact with the resultant penalty and her shot would go tamely wide. 

However. Just two minutes later O’Neill would make up for the penalty miss when she finished smartly to the back of the Tipp net from close range after turning her marker smartly and running at the heart of the defence. 

Tipperary would respond and hit their first score in the 11th minute through Roisin Howard after s free dropped short and the Cahir native struck the ball on the turn. 

It was Howard who would also hit the next score this time from a placed ball in the 15th minute as the league champions started to slowly get on top. 

And they would be level in the 22nd minute when the impressive Grace O’Brien pointed after quick thinking by Niamh Treacy by playing a free short to O’Brien who then pointed from distance. Three minutes later, O’Brien had her side ahead with a pointed free. 

Dublin’s response was quick via Sinead Wylde from a smart finish after winning the ball back off her marker, and Dublin were ahead by the 28th minute through an Aoife McKearney free. 

The Munster outfit would retake the lead in added time when a speculative effort from Caoimhe McCarthy from a distance somehow found its way to the back of the Dublin net dropping in over Eimear Hurley in goal. 

Aoife McKearney with a fine effort from play and Grace O’Brien then exchanged scores to leave the score at the break 1-05 to 1-03 in favour of the home side.

The gap was back to a point in the 35th minute through an Ashling O’Neill free. The game hit a bit of a lull at this stage, and it wouldn’t be till the 42nd minute when the next score came through a Grace O’Brien free which was followed shortly after by a superb team score by Tipp which was finished off nicely by Clodagh McIntyre. 

Dublin reduced the gap to two through a McKearney free, but McIntyre had the gap back to three in the 46th minute with another fine score. McKearney added another free for the Blues to leave two in it again before O’Brien and McIntyre again hit two in a row to put Tipp four ahead with 53 minutes played. 

McKearney once again struck from a free to leave just three in it with five minutes of normal time remaining. 

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Just when it looked like Tipperary had done enough to win the game Dublin were awarded a free 30 metres out and McKearney stepped up and blasted to the back of the net, to level proceedings, to set up a dramatic final few minutes where both sides pushed for a winner, but neither side was able to get the all elusive final score and had to settle for a share of the spoils to start their league campaign off. 

Next up for Tipperary is a home tie against Kilkenny next Saturday and they will know there is a lot of work to be done.

Tipperary: Laura Leenane; Ellen Cunneen, Julieanne Bourke, Eimear Loughman; Caoimhe McCarthy (1-0), Mairead Eviston, Aoife McGrath; Sarah Corcoran, Niamh Treacy; Eimear Heffernan, Caoimhe Maher, Clodagh McIntyre (0-3); Amy Quinlisk, Roisin Howard (0-2, 0-1f), Grace O’Brien (0-5, 0-3f).

Subs used: Mary Burke for A Quinlisk (HT); Lucy Purcell for E Cunneen (42); Caithlyn Treacy for A McGrath (45); Jean Kelly for C Maher (50); Kate Ralph for N Treacy (55); Sarah Madden for C McIntyre (60).

Dublin: Eimear Hurley; Abby Ryan, Christine Shanahan, Emma O’Byrne; Claire Gannon, Kerrie Finnigan, Niamh Comerford; Sarah Power, Gaby Couch; Aoife McKearney (1-5 1-4f), Sinead Wylde (0-1), Aoife Heffernan; Ashling O’Neill (1-1), Emma Moran, Aisling Gannon.

Subs used: Áine Rafter for S Power (HT); Isabel Davis for A Heffernan (HT); Róisín Ní Chathaisigh for S Wylde (55); Aoife Higgins for C Shanahan (61); Hannah Leddy for K Finnigan (64).

Referee: Ray Kelly (Kildare)